A Fine December 2009

*Warning* Ultra long post!
I cannot believe it's been so long since I've blogged. What happened?!?! We left 2009 with a bang, celebrating a fabulous December! We were fortunate to spend time with lots of family which made our month super special!

Here's what we did:

Grandma and Grandpa Mammen came to visit for Annelyse's blessing and Janelle's 7th birthday.

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We celebrated Janelle and cousin Celeste's birthday...Spencer "poured tea" for everyone. :)

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Spencer lounged on Grandma's counter.
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Ally realized that she loves being rocked by her big sister.

She also learned that Grandpa is hilarious!

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We took Spencer and Grandpa to see the trains at Northpark.

They were both in heaven!

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Kyle gave Ally a beautiful baby blessing...

...she did not think pictures afterward were a good idea...
...but she sure looked pretty!

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Janelle finally celebrated her REAL birthday with doughnuts for breakfast!

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Janelle performed with her class at her school Christmas program.They sang "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer." I'm definitely a little partial, but it was the funniest song of the evening!

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We braved the cold and crowds at Santa's Village.
Sending letters to Santa.

The kids were on Santa's TV station, KELF...

...see?

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Christmas Eve finally arrived. We "vacationed" at my parents house because ALL my siblings were finally all home for Christmas. It was so much fun and probably one of my favorite Christmases ever!

I took pictures of a cute naked baby.

Auntie Em gave Spencer an early Christmas present...

...a chocolate milk mixer...the perfect present for the chocolate milk KING! Thanks Emily!
Mom finished three new stockings in the nick of time. She is amazing...she's going to have to teach a class by the time my turn comes around to make them!

"Now how are we going to hang 14 stockings?"

Auntie Erie did lots of entertaining for Ally and taught her the "Popcorn" song. We miss her LOTS!
Auntie Monica recruited some elves for a little Christmas wrapping.

We recreated the Nativity...with a little twist.
Joseph (Daniel) is holding Mary (Celeste). The shepherd (Erin) is holding baby Jesus (Ally). We were short one wise man (Emily and Spencer represented two of them...although Spencer refused to bring his frankincense). And the angel (Janelle) decided she needed a hat. Probably the funniest Nativity we've ever had!
Janelle performed "Santa Baby" for the fam.
The kiddos were dressed in their jammies and finally shipped off to bed!
The adults could finally relax and enjoy our Christmas Eve feast of prime rib...also in our jammies!
We posed for pictures in front of our stockings....
(pictures taken before the kids were sent up to bed!)

Dad made our traditional "Seekie" cake (coffee cake), Laura tried to hold it together because it turned out a wee bit crumbly, and Mom stole a little taste before Dad could cover it!

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Christmas Day finally arrived!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

...and we actually got one! The last time it snowed in Dallas on Christmas was around 80 years ago. We LOVED it!

Glowing tree set against a white background. You can't get any more perfect than that!

The kids checking out the snow while anxiously awaiting the big trip downstairs.

Look even Kyle's hair is excited for Christmas!

Still waiting.

And they finally make it downstairs!
(Don't know why this picture is sideways...I already changed it once.)
The stocking madness begins!

Yea! A new sports bra! (It's the little things...)

Ally hoarding her loot.

Monica got the movie "Cars," Spencer got a Hot Wheels car wash.

See? Santa totally came through...this was all Spencer asked for since October I think!

Don't we just look lovely?

Awwww...Grandma Christa and Annelyse Krista.
Happy Christmas Mom and Dad!

The Platt siblings...yes, that's pretty much what we're like all the time.

I think someone's getting a leeeeeetle bit sleepy!

Aunt Monica made Janelle, Celeste and Ally the cutest bows ever! She is so talented!

Classic. She's opening her Kiana Barbie from Grandma Kay and Grandpa Bill. :)

A little Christmas morning siesta.

Ally opening her toy music clock...she seriously loves that thing!

Kyle got a grill...we had to hide it out in the trailer. We....ahem....he LOVES it and have used it almost every day since he set it up!

Manly Christmas Jammies.

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A Ferguson Christmas...Janelle opening a present from Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa. She was SO surprised to get a new quilt for her bed!

Thank you Great-Grandma!

Grandpa napping - take two!

Ally following suit.

Christmas sibling love!

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The Christmas Aftermath

Ally's clock. My mom gave her this clock because she had one similar to it when she was growing up that played the same song. "Oh the clock in the hall it went tick tock, tick tock. The clock in the hall it went tick tock, tick tock. It stopped. Short. Never to run again when the old man died!" Morbid, I know...but it's actually a cute little tune! We looked the song up on Wickipedia and it's based on a true story!

Sisters.

Uncle Daniel and Janelle building legos.

Some fine dining. Daniel and Monica cooked us this amazing dinner including lettuce wraps, fried asparagus, fried rice, and shrimp. We all ate ourselves silly!

Annelyse got a mild form of RSV over the break and was miserable for a good while.

She mostly slept like this during our stay at my parent's house.
Grandpa felt so sorry for her one particular morning he took her into the sauna (for like 2 minutes) and then the hot tub (which was only as warm as a bathtub). It helped her a ton and she loved it!

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Skeet Shooting

Freezing while skeet shooting...Erin was kind enough to share her scarf with my cousin Aaron and I.

Janelle was actually scared to death to shoot the rifle...she only braved it once with Daddy!

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An afternoon at the bounce house...
"On your mark, get set, GO!"

Occasionally we had to send in reinforcements for lost children.
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Enjoying MORE snow!!!

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After an exploding poop, Ally got to bathe in Grandma's laundry room sink. It was the perfect bathtub for this little stinker!

And then I lost my memory card reader....hopefully it will show up soon for New Year's pictures and future posts!